Local absentee voting starts today

Those who availed of the Local Absentee Voting (LAV) will start casting their votes today, April 29, ahead of the May 13 midterm polls.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) earlier said that the LAV may be availed of by government officials and employees, members of the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philip

pine, and media practitioners who are registered voters but will not be able to vote on Election Day due to the performance of their duties.

Spokesman James Jimenez said the Comelec is ready for the start of the three-day LAV.

“We are ready to hold the local absentee voting, with a lot of it happening in the camps and in the different Comelec offices," he said.

Based on Comelec Resolution No. 10443, local absentee voters shall be voting at any day from April 29, 30, and May 1 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Government officials and employees as well as the police and military will be voting at designated voting centers identified by their superiors/ commanders.

For media men, they are set to vote at the Comelec offices where they also filed their applications to avail of the LAV.

They will be voting only for the positions of senators and party-list group.

Earlier, the poll body approved 34,693 total applications for LAV.

Majority came from members of the Philippine Army with 21,488 applications; followed by Philippine National Police personnel with 8,501; and the Philippine Air Force with 2,335.

Other LAV applications that were also approved came from the personnel of the Department of Education, Philippine Navy, Comelec, Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, the National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Fire Protection, Department of Labor and Employment, and the media.